Backing fabric control means for pile tufting machines



Dec. 31, 1957 MoNUTT' 2,818,037

BACKING FABRIC CONTROL MEANS FOR FILE TUFTING MACHINES Filed Dec. 28,1955 2 She ts-Sheet 1 mv'emon: JOHN McNUTT .BY I Aka? e.

ATTY.

Dec. 31, 1957 'J. M NUTT 2,818,037

BACKING FABRIC CONTROL MEANS FOR PILE TUFTING MACHINES Filed Dec. 28,1955 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 HI! llllll ll lllllllllllllll JOHN McN UTTINVENTORZ United States Patent BACKING FABRIC CONTROL MEANS FOR PILE TUFTIN G MACHINES John McNutt, Blue Bell, -Pa., assignor to James LeesandSons Company, Bridgeport, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania ApplicationDecember 28, 1955', Serial No. 555,831

' 7 Claims. (Cl. 112-79) The present invention relates to apparatus forproducing tufted pile fabrics, and more particularly to mechanism forcontrolling the feed of the backing fabric to the tufting machine.

In the manufacture of tufted fabrics such as floor coverings the pilesurface is formed by a bank of tufting needles which insert and formrows of pile in a base fabric which is advanced across the bed of thetufting machine. The feed of the backing fabric in conventional machineshas presented problems since the backing fabric is taken from a largeroll, and the tension may vary considerably from one end of the roll tothe other. In addition, when the machine is shut down to tie up brokenends and the like, the backing material sometimes continues to feed,.andbecomes slack across the bed of the machine.

Thisslackness results in uneven length of the stitches which, in turn,requires yarn. compensation on the pile surface so that if a long stitchoccurs, the corresponding pile will be too short, and if a short stitchon the back of the fabric occurs, the adjacent pile will be too high.

. These irregularities show up as longitudinal lines extending acrossthe entire width. They are referred to as rnachine or stop marks, andtheir presence mars the uni formity of the pile surface and, therefore,.detracts from its value.

With the foregoing in mind, the primary object of the present inventionis to provide a novel tensioning, means for the backing material of atufting machine which insures uniform tension of the backing fabric asit is advanced across the bed of the tufting machine.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved method forcontrolling the tension and feed of the backing fabric to a carpettufting machine.

A further object of the invention is to provide an elongated dancer rollfor carpet tufting machines and electrical. circuits responsive totheposition of the dancer roll.

More particularly, the present invention contemplates a positive feedingmeans which is operated intermittently to advance preselected lengths ofthe backing material from the supply roll and means between the feedmeans and the tufting machine to maintain a constant tension on thebacking material as the predetermined lengths are taken up by thetufting machine.

The invention also contemplates control means of this type which is ofsimple construction, yet is fully effective me ns h ti ns broken away tomore clearly illustrate 'its operation;

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2;

. Patented Dec. 31, 1957 .mean and thetufting.maehine,..i :disposed adancer roll which applies a uniform tension to the backing materialbetween the pin feedI-oll and thepi takerup roll. The

.feed; means. operates intermittently andi controlled, by

Tthedancerroll which. moves between a lower and-an ,upperlimitpositiOIh-as the pin take-11p roll .draws thematerial across thebed. When the dancer. roll rises toits upper limit position, the .pin:feed roll is actuated to with- .draw more backing fabric fromthe:supply-roll This supply of fabric causesethe dancer roll todrop..-to-its vlower limit position, to stop the pin feed, roll.

Referring. now to. the. drawings, Fig. lillustrates .an embodiment oftheinvention applied to. a conventional tufting machine. In the.. tuftingmachine, the backing fabric B is drawn acrossthe bedlll of themachine'bya pin take-up roll 11. .A-pile surfaceis formed of loops which areinserted into the, ground fabric by a bank of needles mounted for,vertical oscillation relative: to the bed 10. The needles are oscillatedby a mechanism indicated generally at 1.4.andithe hacking fabric isdrawn intermittently by theapin take-uproll v11 so, that the needlesinsert a full transverse, row'of loops at successive intervals along thelength ofthefabn'c. I The needles :13 move in unison and peuetratethenfabric to a given distance below the bed .lllof thet'uftingmachine,.and a looper mechanism 15 .isproVided tohold thepile yarns.Inthe present instancewthe looper. mechanism 15- forms \cutintermittently driven pin .feedr'olll 21.. The backing. is

laced from the roll 20 over guide rollers indicated-at 22, 22. From thepin feed roll 21, the fabric is looped under a dancer roll 23'and thencecarried ,to pin .feedroll.25

over guide roll 24.

The dancer roll 23 is journaled on shaft 23' to which a pinion 26 iskeyed'at each .endthereof. The pinions 26 mesh with racks 27, 27 mountedon the frameof the tufting machine as indicated at 28,28. The pinions 26of the dancer roll shaft 23 are free to travel along the racks 27 andare retained in. engagement therewith by a pair of spaced verticaltracks 29, 29 at each end of the roll 23. As shown in Fig. 5, the rack27 and pinion 26 at each end of thedancer roll shaft 23 maintainthe roll23 horizontal and insure uniform tensionofthe backing fabric across itsfull width. The provision of the controlled dancer roll enables severaldesirable results to be ccomplished. ,As indicated above, the fixedtension applied by the weight of the dancer roll and its associatedshaftand gears prevents creeping of the backing material B across thebed 10 of the tufting machine. .This creeping takesplace to a certainextent even though the pins on the feed roll 25 areprovided to reducethis undesirable feature. If there is sufiicient weight to the dancerroll 23, it might be possible or desirable under certain conditions toemploy a smooth roll in place of the pin feed roll 25. Theimportantfeature, however, is to prevent creeping or stretching of thematerial across the bed 10 .when the machine is stopped, which wouldlengthen the stitches in'a transverse row and thus cause'a machine markwhen the machine is started. The use of the controlled dancerr'ollprevents variations in tension which might otherwise 3 occur, and italso assists in spreading and aligning the backing material as it feedsto the roll and the tufting needles. The racks and pinions permit freevertical movement of the dancer roll but positivelyprevent tilting ofthe roll which would cause uneven tension and/or misalignment.

In the operation of the tufting machine, the pin take-up roll 11 drawsthe fabric across the bed 10 of the machine from the loop L passingaround the dancer roll 23. The pin feed roll 21 is intermittently turnedso that rotation of the backing B by the pin take-up roll 11 shortensthe loop L. As this occurs, the dancer roll 23 and shaft 23 moveupwardly as guided by the tracks 29, 29. During this movement the rollis maintained horizontal by the racks 27 and pinions 26 on the rollshaft 23'. When the loop L is shortened to such an extent that thedancer roll 23 reaches its upper limit position, indicated by the brokenlines in Fig. 1, the pin feed roll 21 is started to withdraw backingmaterial B from the roll 20. This feeding of the backing material B bythe pin roll 21 elongates the loop L and allows the dancer roll 23 tofall under its own weight to its lower limit, at which point the pinfeed roll 21 is stopped.

The dancer roll, in addition to the above advantages, serves anotherimportant function, in that it controls the feed or supply of backingmaterial B. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the feed roll 21 is driven bymotor 31 through driving connections 32, 33, and 34 keyed to the motorshaft 35 and to the roll shaft 36. Motor 31 is supported in a mounting37 and the roll shaft 36 is journaled in a pair of pillow blocks, one ofwhich is shown at 38. A limit switch 39 is provided with an actuatingarm 40 which is in turn controlled by adjustable stops 41, 41 onvertical reciprocating rod 42. This rod is mounted in brackets 43, 43and is provided at its upper end with a compression spring 44 retainedbetween upper bracket 43 and adjustable collar 46. Spring 44 may be setto counteract the weight of the rod 42 and its associated structure. Therod 42 is provided with an upper adjustable limit stop 47 and a loweradjustable limit stop 48 which extends across the path of the dancerroll shaft 23 as shown in Fig. 3. As the backing material B is fed underthe needles, the loop L gradually shortens to raise the dancer roll 23until it contacts the upper limit stop 47. This serves to throw switch39 to start motor 31. The backing fabric continues to be fed from roll20 by pin feed roll 21 until the dancer roll 23 falls to the lowermostbroken line position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 at which point roll shaft 23strikes the lower limit stop 48 to throw switch 39 and stop motor 31 androll 21. It will thus be apparent that the dancer roll assemblyoscillates vertically from its upper broken line position to the lowerposition as may be required by the rate of feed of take-up roll 11. A

safety. switch 50 is positioned adjacent the uppermost position of thedancer roll 23 so that in the event the limit stop 47 is improperlyadjusted or motor 31 fails to stop for any other reason, a holdingcircuit for the motor is opened.

Referring now to Fig. 1 the electrical circuit for controlling motor 31,and consequently the feed of backing material B comprises a start andstop switch connected across a source of electrical current 56. A relay57 is connected around switch 55 through lead 58. The relay is alsoconnected to the electrical supply 56 through the stop button 59 bymeans of lead 60. The upper contacts 61 of relay 57 close a directcircuit to motor 31 through lead 62 and to the main tufting machinemotor (not shown) through lead 63. The lower contacts 64 of relay 57connect the opposite side of the line to the tufting machine motorthrough lead 65 and also close the circuit to motor 31 through leads 66,67, and switch 39; When the tuftin'g machine is started the operatorpresses the start button 68 of switch 55 to energize relay 57 throughleads 69 and 70 toclose contacts 61 and 64. Relay 57 remains energizedby means of a holding circuit through leads 71, 72, and switch 50 whichis normally closed. Assuming that limit switch 39 is opened, which wouldbe the case when dancer roll 23 is in a substantially mid-position shownin full lines in Fig. 1, the loop L gradually shortens as the completedfabric F is formed. When the dancer roll rises suificiently to contactthe upper limit arm 47, lower collar 41 closes switch 39 by moving arm40 to its upper position. This closes the circuit to motor 31 throughlead 60, contacts 64, leads 66, 67, 62, contacts 61, and lead 58.Normally the relay 57 is held energized because switch 50 is closed.However, should the dancer roll 23 be carried too high, it will strikeswitch 50 thus opening the holding circuit for relay 57 and stopping themotor 31 and the tufting machine motor.

When motor 31 starts, the backing material is fed around roll 21 toincrease the length of loop L and thus permit the roll 23 to fall due toits own weight. When the roll drops sufficiently, shaft 23 strikes lowerlimit arm 48 to open switch 39 when upper collar 41 throws the arm 40 toits lower position. This cycle of operation re peats itself indefinitelyas long as the machine is running. The operator may stop the machine atany time by pressing the stop button 59, thus opening the circuit to therelay.

Thus, applicant has invented a device for controlling the feed of abacking fabric which provides uniform tension on the backing fabricacross its width and longitudinally thereof as the latter is drawnacross the bed of a tufting machine. By reason of the uniform tension,the fabric has relatively no tendency to creep to one side or the otherof the tufting machine and thereby insures proper alignment of thefabric with the needles. The apparatus of the present invention greatlyreduces the frequency of shut-downs for adjustment of the backingfabric, and eliminates machine marks in the finished goods.

While a particular embodiment of the present invention has been hereinillustrated and described, it is not intended to limit the invention tosuch a disclosure, but changes and modifications may be made therein andthereto within the scope of the following claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. In a machine for tufting a backing fabric, the combination whichcomprises a plurality of tufting needles, 3. bed over which the backingfabric is drawn under the tufting needles, means including a take-uproll for positively gripping the backing fabric and drawing it under theneedles, means for positively gripping the backing fabric including afeed roll over which said backing fabric is adapted to be wound, meansadapted to form a loop in the backing fabric between the feed roll andthe needles. a dancer roll adapted to be supported by said loop in amanner to permit vertical travel of the dancer roll in accordance withthe rise and fall of the loop extremity, guide means for the dancerroll, means for positively maintaining the dancer roll in asubstantially horizontal position at all times during its travel, meansfor intermittently driving the feed roll, and means responsive to theposition of the dancer roll for stopping and starting said drive means.

2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which the means forpositively maintaining the dancer roll comprises a sleeve journaled on ashaft, a pinion at each end of the shaft, and a rack meshing with eachof said pinions.

in a machine for tufting a backing fabric, the combination whichcomprises a plurality of tufting needles, a bed over which the backingfabric is drawn under the tufting needles, means including a take-uproll for positively gripping the backing fabric and drawing it under theneedles. means for positively gripping the backing fabric including afeed roll over which said backing fabric is adapted to be wound, adancer roll adapted to be supported in a loop in the fabric between thefeed roll and the needles in a manner to permit movement of the dancerroll in accordance with the rise and fall of the loop, and meansincluding a rack and pinion for maintaining the dancer roll in asubstantially horizontal position during its travel.

4. In a machine for tufting a backing fabric, the combination whichcomprises a plurality of tufting needles, a bed over which the backingfabric is drawn under the tufting needles, means including a take-uproll for positively gripping the backing fabric and drawing it under theneedles, means for positively gripping the backing fabric including afeed roll over which said backing fabric is adapted to be wound, adancer roll adapted to be supported in a loop of the fabric between thefeed roll and the needles in a manner to permit movement of the dancerroll in accordance with the rise and fall of the loop, means including apinion on each end of the dancer roll and a pair of cooperating racksfor maintaining the dancer roll in a substantially horizontal positionduring its travel, and a plurality of spaced guides at each end of thedancer roll for retaining the meshing contact between the pinion and therack.

5. In a machine for tufting a backing fabric, the combination whichcomprises a plurality of tufting needles, a bed over which the backingfabric is drawn under the tufting needles, means including a take-uproll for positively gripping the backing fabric and drawing it under theneedles, means for positively gripping the backing fabric including afeed roll over which said backingfabric is adapted to be wound, a motorfor driying said feed roll, a dancer roll adapted to be supported by aloop in the backing fabric between the feed roll and the needles, ashaft extending beyond the edges of the fabric and on which the dancerroll is jonrnaled, a vertical guide at each end of said shaft, a pinionon each end of said shaft, a rack meshing with each of said pinions formaintaining the dancer roll in a horizontal position during its rise andfall in accordance with the length of said loop, and means responsive tothe position of the dancer roll for stopping and starting the motor.

6. In a machine for tufting a backing fabric, the combination whichcomprises a plurality of tufting needles, a bed over which the backingfabric is drawn under the tufting needles, means including a take-uproll for positively gripping the backing fabric and drawing it under theneedles, means for positively gripping the backing fabric including afeed roll over which said backing fabric is adapted to be wound, a motorfor driving said feed roll, a dancer roll adapted to be supported Weloop in the backing fabric between the feed roll and the needles, ashaft extending beyond the edges of the fabric and on which the dancerroll is journaled, a vertical guide at each end of said shaft, a pinionon each end of said shaft, a rack meshing with each of said pinions formaintaining the dancer roll in a horizontal position during its rise andfall in accordance with the length of said loop, an upper limit armpositioned to contact said shaft at its upper limit of travel, a lowerlimit arm positioned to contact said shaft at its lower position oftravel, electrical leads for supplying current to said motor, and aswitch controlled by said limit arms for stopping and starting saidmotor.

7. In a machine for tufting a backing fabric, the combination whichcomprises a plurality of tufting needles, a bed over which the backingfabric is drawn under the tufting needles, means including a take-uproll for positively gripping the backing fabric and drawing it under theneedles, means for positively gripping the backing fabric including afeed roll over which said backing fabric is adapted to be wound, a motorfor driving said feed roll, a dancer roll adapted to be supported by aloop in the backing fabric between the feed roll and the needles, ashaft extending beyond the edges of the fabric and on which the dancerroll is journaled, a vertical guide at each end of said shaft, a pinionon each end of said shaft, a rack meshing with each of said pinions formaintaining the dancer roll in a horizontal position during its rise andfall in accordance with the length of said loop, an upper limit armpositioned to contact said shaft at its upper limit of travel, a lowerlimit arm positioned to contact said shaft at its lower position oftravel, electrical leads for supplying current to said motor, a switchcontrolled by said limit arms for stopping and starting said motor, arelay in said electrical connections, a holding circuit for said relay,and a switch in said holding circuit positioned to be opened by thedancer roll upon reaching a predetermined point in its upward travel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,673,521 Maas June 12, 1928 1,773,709 Daniels Aug. 19, 1930 1,889,546Gates Nov. 29, 1932 1,980,001 Perlesz Nov. 6, 1934 2,070,287 Loos Feb.9, 1937 2,090,022 Baynton et al. Aug. 17, 1937 2,483,466 Johnson Oct. 4,1949 2,727,378 Cook Dec. 20, 1955

